Many people think that the Social Security taxes they pay are held in interest-bearing accounts earmarked for their own future retirement needs. The fact is that Social Security is a pay-as-you-go retirement system—the Social Security taxes paid by today’s workers and their employers are used to pay the benefits for today’s retirees and other beneficiaries.
The Future of Social Security,
SSA Publication No. 05-10055, ICN 462560, March 2005
Better ideas are out there.
From the Cato Institute: 450 Economists Endorse Social Security Choice
